Page 66 of Daddy's Lesson

Instead, she twirled a strand of blue hair, smacked her gum again, and said, “Heya. Welcome to the Penthouse. Are you a member?”

I stopped in my tracks as I’d been set to approach the counter. “I… you have to be a member?”

She squinted at me. “Well, yeah. Kinda. I mean, you can get a guest pass, but like it's a whole process. You have to be, like, vetted. There’s like, a background check and stuff.”

“Oh.” I instantly felt stupid. Of course I couldn't just pay a minor fee at the door and saunter in. It wasn’t that kind of club. Not that I’d been to that kind of club, either.

“Well, I’ll just buy a membership, then.” I’d brought a small clutch with me and I opened it to grab my wallet.

The woman behind the counter just stared at me. “I mean you can… but, you still have to be vetted. There’s, like, a whole process, and stuff.”

“Oh. Right. That makes sense.” All my plans for surprising Lennon tonight, or ever, went up in a ball of flames with that one sentence. What had I been thinking? Of course there was a process. This wasn’t a dance club, for god's sake. Security, privacy, background checks, all those things would be issues. The worst part was, even if I filled out the paperwork and started the process, he was one of the club's owners. There really was no way to surprise him or get in without him knowing. Was there? I thought about it, and wondered how involved he actually was in the day-to-day operations and vetting process.

I decided the best way to find out was to just ask. “I’d like to apply for membership.” I stepped up to the counter and set my clutch on the top of it. Now I was close enough to see that blue-haired, gum popping girl had a name tag on. Her name was Eve. The security guard, or bouncer, whatever he was, had his name printed on his shirt. Zeke. Funny, he didn’t look like a Zeke.

“Sure.” Eve snapped her gum, and pushed a packet of papers at me. “Just fill these out.”

“Uhhh…” I faltered. I was already way out of my comfort zone just being here. Leaning closer, I whispered, “I’m really out of my element here. I’ve never been to… uh… a place like this. I don’t know that I want a whole membership. If I have to be vetted, anyway, maybe I should just do the guest pass thing?”

Eve popped her gum again, and I noticed the security guard roll his eyes. I wasn’t sure if he was rolling them at her or me.

“Well… If you want a guest pass, you have to be a guest. Like of a member. Do you know a member?”

Shit. Of course, I knew Lennon. But I didn’t want to come as his guest. I was trying to surprise him. In a moment of desperation, I said the only other name I could think of. “Archer Brennan.”

Eve’s eyebrows shot to her hairline as she exchanged a look with the security guard.

Zeke stepped forward. “Could I get your name, miss? And can I see your ID please?”

“Certainly.” I dug it out of my wallet and handed it to him. He scanned it for a few seconds, gave a curt nod, and handed it back to me. “I’ll be right back, ma’am.”

I sighed, telling myself I hadn’t gone from miss to ma’am just because he’d seen my ID and now knew exactly how old I was.

Zeke nodded to Eve, walked to the back of the office area, and pushed open a large, heavy door I hadn’t noticed before.

Eve regarded me with renewed interest. “So, how do you know Archer?” she finally asked.

Ah. So that was it. Apparently giving his name had been the right thing to do. There were many ways I knew Archer. Which one should I give?

With a sigh, I admitted, “I used to be one of his Rent-A-Daddy clients.”

Her entire posture changed, as did her expression. Her mouth dropped open and she spun on her heel, stalking toward a file cabinet and pulling a drawer open. “What did you say your name was?” She tossed the question out over her shoulder without looking at me.

“Kramer. Zoe Kramer.”

With a nod, she riffled through the cabinet. “Here we go!” she called triumphantly, extracting a manila folder and pulling it open. She skimmed its contents while I stood there processing the fact that a club I’d never been to had a file with my name on it. I knew why, of course. It was just a bit jarring.

“Yup!” She nodded excitedly, carrying the file to the counter. Plopping it open in front of me, she jabbed her finger toward the middle of what I knew was my initial Rent-A-Daddy application. “Here it is. You’re still a client. And membership is included for the duration of the time you are employing those services. Also, you’ve already been vetted. So you’re good to go.”

“What?” I blinked. After all that, that was it? I was just cleared and free to go in? I should be elated and relieved, but my stomach sank to my toes. “That’s it?” I stuttered. “I can just… go in?”

“Well no, not quite. Since you’ve never been here before, I need to scan your ID, fit you with a bracelet, and give you a locker key.”

She moved around as she spoke, opening a drawer, clicking buttons on a laptop, and withdrawing a key from a pegboard behind her. “What position are you playing tonight?”

I blinked, lost as if she were speaking a totally different language. She may as well have been. Position? Like in baseball?

My confusion must have been evident because she laughed. “Sorry I mean like… Are you wanting to be Top, Bottom, Switch, Submissive, Dom, Mistress?”

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